Prior art devices that hem a film or a plastic sheet as it is being dispensed, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,845,920 and 4,905,451, are well-known in the art. These prior art devices use a stationary hemming device to hem the film as it is being dispensed from a roll. A symmetrical package is rotated on a turntable and the hemmed film is dispensed from the roll and wrapped around the package in overlapping layers to encase the package.
While this type of prior art hemming device works well when wrapping symmetrical loads, it lacks the mobility that is needed when wrapping non-symmetrical loads. When wrapping a non-symmetrical load with a stationary hemming device, gaps may appear or the film may be loose since a stationary hemming device does not account for the angles created in a non-symmetrical load. Thus, when wrapping a non-symmetrical load, a mobile, portable hemming device is necessary to completely encase the package because the portable device allows an operator to wrap the package at different angles while maintaining the advantages of having a hemmed film.
The present invention is intended to overcome or minimize all the problems of the prior art, as well as to present several other improvements.